Coin dispenser trays are widely used as cashier/check out areas and in the self-service check out equipment typically found in places like supermarkets (e.g., Jewel/Osco) and Home Depot. A variety of coin dispensing trays or coin cassettes are provided by a number of manufacturers, each manufacturer possibly offering several tray models having different sizes, arrangements, volumes, denominations, and combinations of coin receptacles for receiving coins in various coin positions.
One common coin dispenser is the Asahi Seiko USA, Inc. (www.asusainc.com) HM-4 coin hopper, in which a plurality of hoppers (i.e., 1¢, 25¢, $1.00) drop the coins into a single exit chute for delivery to a common coin cup. The HM-4 accepts an AMP drawer plug connection to simplify wiring and the hoppers each slide off of the main base plate to permit servicing of coin jams. As the hoppers are depleted, the cashiers or other designated personnel, fill the individual hoppers with coins.
Another popular conventional coin dispenser is the Telequip Transact 2+, which employs removable coin canister or cassette. The program software tracks the change being issued and optimizes the use of the coin supply by attempting to even out the distribution of the coins to enable a longer period of time between refills. The Transact 2+ provides a plug and play pre-wire installation with standard RS232 serial port and other register interfaces. Telequip advertises that the Transact 2+ enables vendors to save from 5 to 7 seconds on every transaction. However, despite these benefits, the refill operation of the Telequip TransactCLS must be done manually. To facilitate loading of the Transact 2+ coin canister, Telequip provides the TransactCLS (Canister Loading Solution), shown in FIG. 1. To use this manual device, one must first remove the clear plastic canister cover by depressing two tabs 70 at the bottom and sliding up until the canister handle hangs toward the back of the canister. Then, the canister stand 10 is placed on a flat surface and the canister 20 assembled to the stand by sliding it down onto two rails 60. The canister loading device 30 is then attached to the canister by lowering the device onto the canister, engaging the top rear of the canister, then pivoting the bottom of the loading device inwardly to engage the front of the canister. The canister loading device 30 is then slid down until it engages the taps at the base of the canister stand.
If the funnel retainer 40 is not already assembled onto the loading device, it is slid onto the two rails at the top of the loading device. The funnel 50 is then attached to the funnel retainer 40 by dropping the funnel onto the retainer with the slots aligned. The funnel 50 is then rotated ¼ turn clockwise, positioned with the opening 52 in the front and the “nose” 54 in the back. To manually position the funnel over the appropriate denomination, the funnel must be lifted slightly and slid until positioned over the appropriate column at which time the funnel is dropped in place so that the shoulder 56 of the funnel is flush with the retainer 40. At this point, the person performing the filling operation must begin loading coins for that denomination by slowly pouring coins into the funnel either by hand, cup, or directly from the coin bag. They must continue filling until that column is filled to the desired height indicated by the calibration strips on the canister. This work is tedious, time consuming, and must be repeated for each denomination.
Despite the advances realized by the aforementioned technology, there remains room for additional improvements to the technology to improve the speed with which coin hoppers and coin canisters may be refilled and returned to service.
Currency processing machines generally have the ability to receive bulk currency (e.g., currency bills and/or coins) from a user of the machine. Coin processing modules, for example, are commonly used as coin redemption machines wherein, after the deposited coins are counted and totaled, a receipt is issued indicating the value of the deposited coins. The user may exchange this receipt for the amount of deposited coins in the form of currency bills or, optionally, for an amount of the deposited coins less a commission charged for use of the coin redemption machine.
Coin redemption machines are used in banking environments (in patron accessible areas and in employee-only areas), business environments (e.g., armored transport services, telephone companies, etc.) and retail environments, such as grocery stores. In operation, a user inputs a batch of coins of mixed denominations into a hopper of the coin redemption machine. The machine discriminates items that are not valid coins, determines the value of the valid deposited coins and outputs a receipt indicative of the determined amount. In some embodiments, the receipt also indicates a second, lesser amount, which reflects a commission charged for use of the machine. The user exchanges the receipt for paper currency for the value of the deposited coins less the commission. In a banking environment, a user may exchange the receipt at a teller's window, whereas, in a retail environment, the user can exchange the receipt at a cashier's station or a patron-service station. In one example, the coin redemption machine disclosed by Molbak in U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,570, receives a number of unsorted coins, counts the total value of the valid coins, and outputs a voucher related to the total amount (i.e., less a commission charge for the use of the machine). The user then takes this voucher to a cashier or clerk for redemption, following the verification of the authenticity of the voucher by the cashier or clerk.
Coin repurposing is typically performed by armored car services (“armored carriers” or “cash in transit”) and, accordingly, there are costs associated with managing retail cash drawers and deposits. FIG. 4 depicts a highly simplified illustration of conventional coin repurposing wherein an armored car carrier 402 sends out an armored vehicle 403 on a route 404 consisting of a plurality of different businesses #1-n (where n represents any number), some of which have disposed therein one or more self-service machines SSM #1-#m (where n represents any number) having coin receptacles requiring pickup. As shown, reference numeral 406a denotes an area where businesses #1-#4 are in the proximity of one another and reference numeral 406b denotes an area where businesses #5-#8 are in the proximity of one another. Once the armored car has picked up all of the coins from the self-service machines SSM and stores on the route 404, and dropped off wrapped or packaged coins according to the requirements of the businesses #1-#n, the armored car returns to the armored car carrier 402 and the coins transported back to the armored car carrier 402 are processed and repackaged for delivery on subsequent routes.
The armored carrier charges a “Deposit Pick Up Charge” for picking up the store's deposit each day (e.g., $25), including excess notes, coin and checks and a “Change Order Delivery Charge” for dropping off the cash (coin/notes) needed by store to fund the day (e.g., $25 per delivery). There are further fees for the “Currency Furnished” (e.g., $1.25 per $1000), “Rolled Coin Provided (per roll)” (e.g., $0.10 per roll) and a “Deposit Processing Charge” charged by the deposit processor (armored carrier or bank) to count and verify the deposit. A separate fee is usually imposed for each media type such as notes, coin and checks. Still further there can be “Per Deposit” fees (e.g., $1.50 for the deposit) and “Cash Processing” fees (e.g., per $1000)(e.g., $1.25). Yet further, on top of these fees, there is an In-Store-Labor to Manage Coin (preparing starting funds, replenishing, counting end of day) which are approximately $37.50/day (e.g., average 1.5 hours per day at $25.00/hr).
Yet further, the armored service that comes to pick up coins from a self-service machine might not even be the same armored service or driver that is picking up the store's deposit for the day. They could be right behind each other in different trucks, further increasing the total coin pick-up charge, processing charges, and coin delivery charge.
Likewise, costs associated with managing retail self-service machines of the types noted above can include armored carrier fees for “Bin Pick Up” (if using a bin machine) for picking up the store's coin bins (e.g., $40.00 for one pickup per week), a “Bin Processing Charge” charged by the deposit processor (armored carrier or bank) to count and verify the coin bin (e.g., $35.00 per bin), a “Bag Pick Up Charge” (if using a bag machine) charged by the armored carrier for picking up the store's coin bags (e.g., $40.00 for one pickup per week), and a “Bag Processing Charge” charged by the deposit processor (armored carrier or bank) to count and verify the coin bags (e.g., $1.00˜4.00 per bag).
This longstanding manner of coin repurposing has proven to be reliable.